This story from Mary Coleridge includes some excellent examples of situational irony. A king dies of fever, regretting that he had not lived long enough to finish his work. His spirit dreams his life will be restored if it can locate three people who wish that he was still alive within an hour of his death. The spirit’s findings are not what it had expected, and an even greater insult awaits when it returns to the palace. The story encourages readers to think about what kind of person they think they are, and whether their friends or partner would agree.
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